In game three of the weekend series, Georgia fell to No. 16 Georgia Tech in its lowest-scoring performance of the season, 4-1. Georgia still won the whole series 2-1 and outscored Georgia Tech 24-12 in the series.
“That is your goal, any time you come into a weekend is to win a series,” Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin said. “When you get to Sunday with a chance to sweep, you just want to finish it off. We didn’t play very good today. A tip of the cap to Georgia Tech. They played really well and made some plays. We didn’t have enough good at bats. On Sunday if you only give up four runs, you likely have a really good chance to win, especially with our offense.”
The consistency Georgia had shown in previous matchups was completely thrown off in this neutral-site matchup. Georgia, coming off of a 16-run performance just the day prior, only scored one run.
The Yellow Jackets pitching kept the Bulldogs contained. Jackson Finley, brother of Georgia pitcher Leighton Finley, started on the mound for the Yellow Jackets. He netted four strikeouts and allowed only one run. Ben King and Terry Busse came in as relief and kept the train rolling. The entire pitching rotation totaled 12 strikeouts.
Georgia’s only run came from Charlie Condon. After graduate Connor Tate’s base hit, fellow graduate Ben Anderson advanced to third base. Condon made it to first, as Anderson made it home and Tate was thrown out at second in a fielder’s choice. There were plenty of opportunities, including one in the same inning, where two runners were left on base. However, Georgia could never capitalize as the team had for most of the season.
While the Bulldogs’ pitching and defense weren’t terrible, it wasn’t enough to grab a win. Senior Nolan Crisp started on the mound and got off to a solid start. He allowed no runs in the first two innings, but disaster struck in the third. In the first three batters, all reached base, quickly loading them.
With the bases loaded, the Yellow Jackets took advantage of the situation. Senior Angelo Dispigna ripped one to right field, driving in two and giving the Yellow Jackets a lead they never relinquished. Freshman Matthew Hoskins came in for the Bulldogs and got them out of that sticky situation with two straight strikeouts and a pop fly. He totaled three straight outs and looked impressive in relief for Crisp.
Luke Wagner came in relief for Hoskins in the fifth inning. Hoskins didn’t allow a run through the two innings he pitched. Hoskins hit a batter in the fourth, but followed that with three straight strikeouts. He finished with five total strikeouts on the day, the most for a Georgia pitcher in the contest.
Meanwhile, Wagner allowed another Georgia Tech run in the one and only inning he pitched in. After loading the bases in the fifth, he was replaced by Chandler Marsh, who walked Drew Compton, as a man Wagner allowed on base scored. Marsh would subsequently strike out the next two batters.
Junior Zach DeVito entered the game in the top of the seventh and on the first batter he faced, a ball rolled past the third baseman just fair and right under the wall padding, where Tate couldn’t reach, holding Jack Rubenstein at third base. After a pop fly, Rubenstein tagged up and scored the final run of the game.
Georgia now travels to North Augusta, South Carolina for another neutral site matchup in the first game of a two-game series against Georgia Southern on March 7.